Lilacs 2 - The black rose
by Lady-Sif13
Summary: A sequel to Lilacs, five years after leaving Lucius Malfoy, Mina Harper has made a life for herself. Soon she will be christened as fae and join her mother and Jareth in the Underground. But someone is trying to send her a message. In the form of black roses. Who is leaving these omnious messages for her? And what are they warning her for?
1. Chapter 1 - Strangers

**Prologue**

With a trembling hand, the figure in front of the burning fire picked up a rose from the deep purple vase that stood nearby. The harsh orange and yellow colours of the fire bounced off the blackness of the rose petals. The figure smelled the flower, before a sneer formed at his mouth. With a growl of discontent, he threw the flower in the flames and watched as the fire consumed it.

He was ready for revenge.

**Chapter 1**

\- Five years later -

"Mina! Wait up!"

With a smile, the young woman Mina Harper turned around, recognizing the voice from anywhere. "Carla! So good to see you." Carla grinned at her friend. "You too! You look so good!"

Happily chatting, they entered the little coffee shop they agreed to meet at. It had been months since they talked, they both led such busy lives after graduating from Hogwarts. They sat down and ordered two chai lattes, their favourite drink.

"So how's Mickey?" Mina asked warmly, when they were sipping from their beverage. The shop was cosy, the interior decorated with bookcases and sofa's, giving it more of a 'living room' feel than an actual café. Carla smiled shyly.

"He's good, thanks. He's working on his paper, doing research and whatnot. I can tell he's so excited about it." She happily shared, making Mina smile too. "I'm glad to hear it."

"How's your mom?" Carla asked in return and Mina chuckled. "Like a teenager in love. She and Jareth check in every now and then and it's like I'm seeing myself and…" Her smile faded and her voice trailed off. Tears sprang to her eyes and she shook her head in frustration. Carla frowned, a guilty look spreading on her face. "I'm so sorry, Mina, I didn't mean to…" She started to say, but Mina made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "No, no worries, I should be over it by now."

Carla knew that she was talking about her and Lucius. After five years, it still stung. It still hurt. The fact that Lucius wasn't able to accept Mina for who she was, only for what she was, after finding out who her father was. He never even fought for her, never contacted her. Her friend deserved so much more than him, but Carla knew that she still missed him and pined after the man.

"It's okay if you aren't, Mina. You loved him."

Mina hid her face in her hands and had a good cry, while Carla patted her on her back and fed her consoling words. But she didn't know what to say, to make her friend feel better. It hit her how happy she should be that her relationship with Mickey was still good and strong and how thankful she should be towards Mina, for talking sense into her back at Hogwarts.

They finished their drink, the mood a bit heavier than before. But nevertheless they were both happy to be caught up with each other's lives again. Afterwards, Mina visited the nearby flower shop to buy some lilacs. She inhaled their scent as she exited the shop and smiled wryly. It reminded her of home, her childhood and playing around with her brother Clint. But it also reminded her of Lucius and their affair. She was so young and gullible back then. Falling for his tricks and excuses.

She took solace in the fact that she lived and learned, she stood up for herself now and was less of a pushover. With the help of the teachers, she graduated from Hogwarts and took a part-time job as a writer. She wrote for several newspapers, both muggle and wizard. Jareth had been rather generous, so Mina would be able to grow and develop, without having to worry over money. She rented a room in London, to feel more in touch with the big city. Thanks to Jareth, she could afford it. Over and over she tried to deny him spending money on her like that, but he was determined to help her out. He was willing to do the same for Clint, but sadly they had another falling out. And just like last time, he took off without telling them where. They never found out where he was living, when he came back into their lives, so they had no idea where to look for him.

Mina arrived at her flat and went inside, a sudden feeling of dread overcoming her. Someone was here. Someone who didn't belong. She opened her mailbox in the corner of the hallway, slowly turning her key in the keyhole, swallowing hard. The little hallway was empty, but parts of it were hugged by the shadows casted. And the feeling that somebody was watching her, was one that she couldn't shake. Her mailbox was empty so Mina closed and locked it again. She walked over to the elevator and pressed the button. Nothing happened. Strange. Usually the button was illuminated from the inside, indicating the elevator was coming. The girl sighed and turned to the staircase.

"The fifth floor, who came up with that…" She mumbled as she started to ascend the stairs. "Oh, that's right, I did." Again the girl sighed, thinking that she really should improve her health, so this wouldn't be such a burden. Finally, she arrived at her doorstep and opened the door for herself. Quickly she turned her head to look behind her, since she felt a pair of eyes on her again. The hallway was empty, but again parts of it were hidden in shadows.

With an anxious feeling, Mina stepped over her threshold and entered her apartment. It was a lovely little place, she refused to rent a giant penthouse when Jareth offered her his help. There was a small kitchen with a table and some chairs in the left corner, in the middle of the room a small coffee table, with a giant purple couch behind it. On the wall hung a flat TV screen, which Mina used for 'background noise', while she was writing. Her trusted laptop buzzed softly, just like she left it, laying in the couch. Further into the apartment she had a small bedroom and a bathroom behind hit. With a bath-tub. That was the only luxury that Mina had insisted on. The walls were painted in a light lilac shade and her furniture was a little worn but sturdy. Most of it came from second-hand stores. She didn't tell Jareth that, he would have been appalled at his royal daughter picking up her furniture at a thrift store. Some knick-knacks were spread here and there, but overall the apartment was tidy and clean. And it was home.

Mina put her purse on her kitchen table and took looked for a knife in her utensil drawer. She wanted to cut the lilac-branches, so they'd last longer in a vase. She frowned when she didn't find the little black piece of cutlery, but then noticed it was laying in her sink. That was not where she left it. She was sure of it. How was this possible? Was she going insane? When she stepped closer to inspect it, she noticed a few drops of blood on the blade and around it. This was getting stranger by the second. The girl realized that she was still clenching the flowers in her left hand and looked in the cabinet under the sink to find her vase. The spot was empty.

With a gasp, the girl spun around to inspect the apartment. The vase had to be around here somewhere. She probably just forgot to put it back after buying flowers last time. But how long had that been? Had she not noticed it for all these weeks? Or was someone in here without her knowing?

Then it dawned on her. The vase was standing in her window sill, next to her couch. Mina knew that her fears were true. She didn't leave it out after buying flowers last time. She was sure of it, because of the bouquet of fresh flowers that was standing in it right now. Flowers she had never seen before in her life. It was a bouquet of black roses. The petals were pitch-black, as if they had gone rotten, but they were blooming like freshly cut flowers. A streak of blood ran down the white porcelain of the vase, as if someone cut themselves while preparing it, but didn't bother to wipe away the blood.

Mina took out a long glass, filled it with some water and put the lilac-branches in the glass, setting them down on her kitchen table. She wasn't thinking straight, she hoped that doing mundane chores that needed to be done would somehow make up for the fact that a stranger put flowers in her home for some reason. But then the fear turned to anger. How dare this stranger scare her like this? Violate her privacy this way? She didn't care if they were from some secret admirer or whatnot, this was not okay.

With firm and long strides, she walked towards the vase and picked it up, inspecting the bouquet. Ah, as expected, there was a card. But not some plain muggle card, it was an envelope with a piece of parchment inside. She put the vase down and opened up the envelop, sealed with a wax seal, and took out the piece of parchment.

_"__Soon" _

It was one word, written in handwriting Mina did not recognize. Again she noticed traces of blood, like someone frantically prepared the note, after cutting themselves. What did it mean? Soon he or she would reveal themselves? Soon she'd be in trouble? Should she contact Jareth and her mother to tell them? Was it theirs? A little trick to announce a formal event? Or was this a much more sinister situation? Or was it just Clint, pulling a very tasteless joke?

As Mina pondered over the possibilities, she felt her latte turn in her stomach, filling her mouth with saliva. She ran towards the bathroom and dropped to her knees, throwing up in the toilet bowl. She panted, once she was done, trying to focus on something else than the sour taste of vomit in her mouth. With trembling hands, she stood up and grabbed the glass near the sink, filling it with water. As she slowly sipped from the liquid, she noticed her reflection. A scared little bird was looking back at her, with a pale face and a worried frown. Only one question was racing through her mind.

Who was after her?


	2. Chapter 2 - Mirage

A figure was sitting in a large arm chair, shrouded by darkness. His body was slouched, as if he tried to lay down flat in it. A fire nearby caused shadows to dance against the walls. The manor wasn't the riches he was used to, but for now it would have to do. The curtains had once been lush and full, but were a shaded colour of purple now, ripped and messy. The walls were grey and stained, but once this room had been one of stature and poise. Just like him, he thought.

In front of him, a strange spectacle took place. Figures were dancing, dressed to the nines. There was music, although by the time the sound reached him, it sounded muffled. It didn't seem to bother the people on the dancefloor. They were lost in their music, lost in their dance. Between them, it was as if the room had been returned to its former glory. The walls and curtains were restored and the party was in full motion. In reality, there was a large bubble in front of the figure, in which the formal event took place. A mirage. It didn't seem to bother him. Enthralled he was watching, staring at the faces of the guests intently, as if he was looking for someone specific. When he thought he saw her, he sat up, his eyes zoning in.

It was Mina Harper, in her green and black dress. She looked the way she looked when she and Lucius held the ball at Malfoy manor, when Lucius was going to make their relationship known to the world. Of course Jareth showing up had made it impossible. There was one difference about Mina's appearance in this phantasm, though. Instead of the necklace he had gifted her for her birthday, she was wearing a different model.

This necklace had the form of a choker, green little emeralds on the edges. In between silver embellishments holding them together, with a large green emerald in the middle. Underneath, there hung a little medallion with the Malfoy crest on it.

The girl smiled wide as one of the figures started to dance with her, swaying her around on the muffled music. The figure kissed her and she hungrily returned the kiss, as if she was starved for attention from the other. The silhouette in the chair got angered and sat up.

"Not so eager! She'd never do that!" He growled, clutching at the cigar in his left hand. He took a deep drag from it, the tip lighting up as he did. Mina rolled her eyes and sighed, the bubble around her disappearing. "I'm just a stand in, you know? I can't copy her perfectly!" She told him, crossing her arms over each other in a frustrated manner. Up until that point, any stranger would have been convinced this was the real Mina Harper, but the strange voice gave her away.

"You better learn!" The man growled at her, not wanting to hear excuses or defences. He expected perfection and nothing less.

The bubble started back up again and the girl took her place between the other 'guests', dancing, drinking and laughing. The man in the chair settled down and enjoyed his little daydream, taking drags of his cigar every now and then. Time seemed to stand still but as always, it was a cruel master. Soon, Mina's harper's hair lost its black colour and started to look like it was on fire. Redness pushed its way between her raven locks faster and faster. Her blue eyes turned into harsh green colour and her bodily proportions changed as well. Her body was more mature, after all.

"Enough! Enough!" The man grumbled, from his chair, waving his cigar around. The bubble, filled with its riches, its music and its magic, disappeared, leaving the room to reality in all its dreariness.

"It only works for an hour. The polyjuice potion. You know that. We're going to need more of her hair or whatever to keep it working. It's running out." The girl stated as she got her wand out. "Incendio!" From the tip of her wand, little balls of fire shot to the fireplace and the different candles in the room, lighting it all. An orange glow enlightened the room and the man sighed heavily.

"We can't visit again so soon, it will cause suspicion." He answered as he got up. He walked to one of the windows and opened it, peering into the darkness. The reality of the situation was that he didn't want to look at the other. Not now she wasn't looking like Mina Harper anymore.

"Visit? Is that what you're calling it? Breaking in is more like it!" The red-haired girl answered in a condescending tone, a short and dry chuckle following soon after.

"Don't call it that! She wants me in her life! She just needs a bit of convincing, that's all!" The man snarled back at her. When she appeared behind him with a glass of brandy, he accepted it without looking at her. He nursed it in his hand for a few lingering moments as he tried to recapture the image of Mina in his mind. Then he took a swig and groaned as the burning liquid filled his throat.

What had he become? He was a man of stature, of prestige. All of it had been washed down the drain, because of her. Because she left him. A filthy muggle girl. Another swig, another groan. The truth was painful. Which was the exact reason that he loved losing himself in memories, in illusions. Even though they were a meagre comfort. But soon she would change her mind, when they set the rest of the plan in motion. It was just a matter of time before she'd return to him.

"It's just a matter of time." He murmured, thinking it would sound more real if he said it out loud.

"You really think so?" The girl asked him and the doubt was clear in her voice. It angered him. He didn't want to think about failure. It was all he had been dreaming about for all these months, all these years.

"Yes! And who are you to complain? I pay you well for this, don't I?!" He threw back at her, heavily agitated.

"You know that I'm not in this for the gold." She said softly, defeated. The money was a perk. A side effect. But the real reward was this. Right here. Spending time with him outside of the illusions. Even though she knew he preferred it the other way. That he was merely using her. But what did it matter? Over time, he'd surely see her loyalty and forget all about that silly muggle girl.

"Yes, yes. You want your revenge as well, I know. But you won't hurt her. You will do as I say, when I say it." He answered, still peering into the dark. The girl sighed and shook her head. Either he was completely oblivious to her deep desire for him, or he just didn't care about it. She hoped it was the former. At least then there was hope for more.

"I am tired. I am going to retire for the night." The man said, before downing the rest of his brandy. Before the girl could try and talk him into having one more drink with her, he strode out the room.

She let out a grunt of frustration as soon as she was convinced that he was out of ear shot. "Ugh! I will get you for this, Mina Harper! You just wait!" She murmured, pacing back and forth.

The man heard but did not care enough to think it over. What did it matter what that girl had to say? He never really listened. Their agreement was clear to him. He paid her a good sum of money to take polyjuice potion to turn into Mina Harper. Plus she'd assist him in his trips and other plans concerning Mina. He wanted to lash out at the muggle girl, hit her where it hurt for leaving him like this. For making a fool out of him. He made his way to the chamber he turned into his sleeping quarters. It was as dreary as the ball room he was just in. This manor had been in a bad state for years. But at least nobody came looking for him here. He sighed as he looked around. He had fixed up the curtains in this room, so they'd let no light in when dawn came. Other than the curtains, there had been no altering. The walls were the same grey colour as in the ballroom. The wallpaper was letting go in some places and the chair in the corner was looking raggedy as well.

He slid out of his clothes and threw them over the ragged piece of furniture. Out of the black closet in the corner he pulled a robe and put it on. One of the nice pieces of clothing he had left. With a sigh he lit the candle on the nightstand and pulled out the book he had in there. He sat in the chair and started to read. Even though the story was quite enthralling, he wasn't able to concentrate. Mina danced through the story, through his mind the entire time. He saw her in the shadows of the room and in the fire of the candle. After reading a few sentences he closed the book and sighed.

"What have you done to me…" He whispered, shaking his head.

Meanwhile in an apartment in London, the sound of a buzzing crystal filled the room. "In a minute!" Mina called out, even though nobody could hear her. She ducked underneath of her bed and fished the crystal out from the box there. She held in her hand and pointed it at the wall. As usual, a beam of light was directed at the wall and there an image of Jareth and her mother appeared. Jareth gave Mina this crystal when she was moving into her apartment. With it, they could communicate with each other, even though Mina was not in the Underground. They could hold the crystal and focus on the other person. Then when the other person would hear the crystal buzz, they could hold it as well and a connection was set up, through a beam of light. Quite a nifty invention, Mina thought.

"Mina! There you are! How are you, dear?" Sarah asked her warmly. Jareth smiled. "Hello Mina. We were worried. Are you alright?" Sarah gave him a look. They obviously rehearsed this before contacting her. Mina decided to find it charming and not get agitated by it.

"Yes, of course, I'm fine. How are you two? How are things there?" She asked in return, putting up her best fake voice. The whole ordeal with the flowers was still running through her mind and she had nightmares ever since. It had been a few days, so she was still hoping that they'd pass. Somehow Jareth and Sarah had a feeling that something was up. But she didn't want to worry them.

"Are you sure, dear? You can come over if you want. Or we'll come to you." Sarah replied, frowning a bit, as if she was trying to read her daughter's mind.

"No!" Mina replied a bit too fast. Jareth rose a brow. "I mean….you have that big formal even coming up, right?" She added, her voice trembling a bit. "Yes, we do. But you come first." Jareth replied.

"I know, I know, but there's really nothing wrong, I just have this deadline that I might not make, that's all." The lie left her mouth easier than she expected. "But how are things? I could use some good news."

"Oh well, things are a bit stressful here as well, but we are handling it. We plan on making this the event of the year!" Sarah happily shared, making Jareth smile. For a moment, Mina's heart stung with hurt, when he saw Jareth looking at Sarah like that. She was very happy for them, elated that her real parents were together in this beautiful other world. But she wished that she had the same. A man that would look at her in pure admiration and love.

They kept talking about this and that for a while longer, but the real issues weren't being talked about. For starters Mina did not even whisper about the stranger leaving that message in her apartment. And Sarah stopped asking if she heard anything from Clint. Mina was happy about it, but sad at the same time. She hated to disappoint Sarah, by having to tell her that no, she heard nothing. It had been so long, she doubted that they'd ever hear anything from him again. He was a coward, just like Bill, she thought. Guess he rubbed off on him in one way or another. So instead of talking about their troubles, they exchanged pleasantries.

None of them noticed the owl by the window, looking in on Mina.


	3. Chapter 3 - Strained relationships

Saturday night rolled around for Mina and lucky for her, the week was pretty uneventful besides the conversation with Jareth and her mother. She was still curious about how they knew that something was up with her. Maybe it was a mistake not to trust them with the truth, but she didn't want to burden them or ruin the formal ball they had planned. If she had told them she thought someone had been in her apartment, they'd be knocking on her door the same hour, forgetting all about their planning.

Besides, today was not the day to worry over that. Tonight Carla was coming over for a much needed night of girl time. They were going to watch movies, snack and most of all drink. Earlier today Mina had gathered the last bits of groceries, now she was eating dinner and watching a show about models getting make overs and learning more about the modelling business. Her absolute favourite.

While she was rinsing off the plate and pan she used, the doorbell rang. Quickly the girl dried her hands on the towel that hung from one of the cabinet handles and rushed to the door. "Hey, come on up!" She said cheerfully into her intercom and buzzed the visitor in. She opened the door to her apartment and shoved an owl shaped doorstopper in front of it, so it would stay propped open while she finished the dishes.

After a while, her friend Carla hurried into the room and hugged her friend from behind. "Hey you! I'm so excited over this weekend!" Mina chuckled and turned around so she could hug her friend back properly. "So am I! So what is Mickey up to this weekend? Going to have fun with his mates?" Carla nodded. "Yes, he was keen on it too. He´s visiting some buddies in Nottingham and they´re gonna go camping, I think. I´m preferring our luxury weekend though." She answered, rolling her eyes in fond exasperation. Mina chuckled. "I prefer this too. Alright, wanna get comfy?"

"You bet!" Carla answered and they took turns taking a nice hot bath and then changing into their pyjamas and fuzzy slippers. This is how they used to do sleepovers when they were younger and they still did it this way. Although a few mature additions had been included over the years, Like the bottles of rum, mixed in with cola and pineapple juice. Mina put a thick, soft, blanket on the ground so they could lay on it, watch tv, drink and gossip. The evening progressed and the girls got a bit tipsy from all the rum.

"I think it's time for something stronger…" Carla announced with a cheeky grin, a bit before midnight. "Something stronger than that rum we are drinking?" Mina inquired. "I'm not sure that's even possible!" Carla just grinned some more and went to find her backpack. She opened it and took out a little bag with an almost purple looking strain of weed. "I wasn't talking about the rum." She said smugly and came back to Mina. "Where did you even get this? It looks amazing!" The girl praised her friend as she inspected the substance from up close. "I have my connections." Carla just said, casually.

"You got it from John, right?" Mina asked plainly. Carla had a tendency to make this a bit more dramatic and mysterious than they needed to be. In this case, both Mina and Carla used the service of the same dealer, a guy named John. Carla didn't answer and rolled a blunt for the both of them, using vanilla-scented cigar paper. Meanwhile Mina searched for a certain CD she burned for this occasion. Carla and her both smoked week every once in a while and Mina burned a CD with perfect songs to get in the right mood while doing it. It included 'White Rabbit' by Jefferson Airplane, 'A whiter shade of pale' by Procol Harum and 'Perfect day' by Lou Reed. These were all classics that Sarah used to listen to, so Mina suspected her mother to have done her share of weed smoking in her days.

As the first note of White Rabbit filled the room, Carla handed Mina her blunt and lit the both of them, taking a long drag of her own. Mina did the same and felt more relaxed already. Even though this weekend was supposed to take her mind off things, it was still swimming around in the back of her mind.

"This is good stuff. Never saw this colour before." Mina said softly, feeling herself floating away in that familiar bed of clouds. Carla started to explain about different kinds of strains of weed, but it went past Mina. She giggled a bit. The buzz was definitely setting in. Next to her, she heard Carla giggle as well. After a few more drags, the giggling had subsided. Mina turned her head in the direction of her friend and saw that the blanket had turned into a bed of purple grass. She shot up in shock and saw glitter dance in front of her eyes. She groaned. Oh no, she had to focus.

It took a few moments for the girl to realize that not only did the blanket change, so did the whole room. Between the grass, different kinds of flowers sprouted. And instead of in her room, Mina found herself in a field. In the distance, she could make out a small lake and a little wooden house. Strangely, both the water and the sky appeared in different shades of purple.

"Where am I…" She muttered. Was this just her high? Was it making her hallucinate? She couldn't exactly think straight, her mind was completely wrapped in a cloud, as it usually was when she got high.

"You should know where you are. And where you're going." A furry animal nearby said sternly. It hopped closer and Mina saw that it was an otter with black fur, walking on his hind legs.

"What?" She asked, a little dumbfounded.

"No, where!" The otter said in an annoyed manner, pointing at her with a little rock in its fist. "I said where you are going, not what you are going. That wouldn't make any sense! Are you here for the crooked man?"

"The crooked man…." Mina repeated and tried to dig into her memories. Why did that name sound familiar? There was a crooked man…..then it rang a bell. It was a nursery rhyme her mother used to sing for her and Clint when they were little.

"Well, he lives over there! In that crooked house!" The otter muttered, now pointing the rock he held in the direction of the little house. Mina saw that it was indeed a bit crooked. But was she really going there? To see the crooked man? It made as much sense as anything else here, so why not?

"Thank you, I'll go there right away!" Mina said happily and started to walk in the direction had just pointed her in. The otter shook his head. "I dunno why'd you do that. He's a demon after all!" He said, but Mina was too far away and too wrapped up in her cloud thoughts to notice.

The path towards the crooked house confused Mina greatly. Sometimes it seemed that the path got longer, no matter how firmly she walked. Then it seemed like the house was coming closer too fast for her pace. She decided to slow down and the house came closer and closer within seconds. Now that she was here, she inspected it better. It was a little wooden cottage, crooked indeed. The entire structure leaned to the left. Mina couldn't imagine it was nice to live here. Behind the cottage, she noticed a small garden with some vegetables growing there. But instead of plump, fresh vegetables, Mina saw rotten stems and leaves on the ground. Huh, strange. When she looked back at the house, she saw little purple curtains in front of the window, keeping her from looking in. But the curtains were stained and shredded at some parts, so it was possible to leer inside, if she strained herself.

But that would be impolite, Mina decided. She noticed a cord attached to a bronze bell and pulled it, so the bell alerted the owner that someone was at the door. Perhaps the crooked man could tell her where to go, to get back….she didn't know exactly where she had to go back to, but she knew that she didn't belong here. For a moment, she could have sworn to hear the notes play from 'A whiter shade of pale', by Procul Harum.

"What do you want?" A voice rumbled from behind the door. The voice sounded low, deeply troubled and almost rasping. "I-I lost my way!" Mina squeaked in reply, feeling very afraid all of a sudden. "Sing for me! Sing my song!" The being demanded from behind the door.

"Eh…I…."

"Now!"

"There was a crooked man, he walked a crooked mile…" Mina started the song, glad that she was able to remember at least the first two lines. Before she could state that she didn't know how the song continued, the door was ripped open and a large, demon-like creature with elongated arms and legs stood there, in a magenta suit with a lime green tie. His right arm shot forward and grabbed Mina by her throat, pulling her inside. His beady eyes glared at her and there were long, black fingernails at the end of his fingers.

"The crooked man stepped forth and rang the crooked bell!

And thus his crooked soul, spiralled into a crooked hell!

Murdered his crooked family and laughed a crooked laugh!"

Mina screamed in terror, noticing the large teeth inside of the creature's mouth, as well and the rotting exterior of the house. There were flies all over, rotting flowers in the vase on the table and bursts in the mirrors and windows.

"You made a mistake, girly! Reconsider what you did or sooooooon…you will be sorry!" The creature growled at Mina, shaking her in his massive hand.

"No, no, let me go!" She shouted and did her best to squirm free. What did it mean? What did she need to reconsider? The creature cried out in anger once again and threw Mina in the direction of one of the walls, where a large mirror hung. Crying in fear, Mina hid her face in her hands and tried to make herself small so the impact would be less severe. But it never came.

There was silence around her. She was laying on the ground though, she noticed. Was the crooked man still there? When she felt something touch her arm, she shot up with a shriek, only to find herself back in her room, on the large purple blanket she put down. Carla was laying next to her, eyeing her in a worried manner.

"Are you alright? You fell asleep and I wanted to wake you up. Did you have a nightmare?" She asked as she put a hand on her friend's arm.

A dream? Had it been a dream? No, it couldn't be. It was so real. But then again, dreams often appeared very real, Mina tried to rationalize what happened. "Yeah, I think so…" She finally said. "That's some awfully strong weed John gave you."

Carla cleared her throat and averted her gaze. "You did get it from John, right?" Min asked her, tilting her head. "I couldn't reach John, so I bought it from someone in Nocturn Alley instead." Carla admitted, fidgeting a bit with her hands.

"You got weed at Nocturn Alley? Are you crazy?!" Mina exclaimed as she shot up. Carla scrambled to her feet as well, a guilty look on her face. "I'm sorry, Mina, I didn't want to arrive empty handed here! I have no idea where John is." She explained herself.

Mina sighed and ran to her bathroom, trying not to cry, sitting on the edge of her bath tub. Stop, it was just a dream, she tried to tell herself. But she was very upset with Carla for doing this. She hadn't told Carla about the note and her suspicions so it was ludicrous to be mad, but Mina couldn't help herself. She tried to calm herself down by rationalizing what she saw. It was a purple field, with a talking otter and a demon in a rotting house. Okay, it should be pretty clear that it was a dream.

With a grunt of frustration, she stood up and approached her sink, so she could wash her face. She wetted a washing cloth and started to wipe her face and neck with it, moving her pyjama out of the way a bit. Then she noticed a large red welt in her neck and she knew it was from a fingernail of the crooked man. With a cry of fear, she stepped back. Carla barged in when she heard.

"Mina! What's wrong! By Merlin's beard, you look white as a sheet!" Mina looked at her friend, trembling all over. "Carla….what happened for you?" She asked her friend in a small voice.

"What do you mean, what happened for me?"

"What did you see? After smoking that weed? Did you just fall asleep? Or did you go somewhere?" Mina explained her question. Carla frowned, thinking this over.

"I just kinda zoned out, I think. I don't really remember. Why do you ask? Did you have a nightmare?" Carla asked, getting more and more concerned with her friend.

Mina started to tell her about the dream she had, about the crooked man and about the flowers in her apartment, accompanied by that ominous note.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? That sounds so scary!" Carla said, in an indignant tone. Mina sighed and shook her head. "I didn't want it to be true. But now I think the person that gave you the weed might have it in for me." Carla frowned. "But how do you know that the note and the dream are related? Maybe it was just something that was on your mind and that's why you got in that weird trip."

That was a good point as well, Mina thought. It could have just been her mind playing tricks on her. But the fact that a stranger sold Carla this, made her suspicious. Then suddenly a memory popped not her mind.

"The crooked man said 'soon'. Emphasized it, even. It also said 'soon' on the note."


	4. Chapter 4 - Open wounds

"But Mina, if that's the case, then you have to alert your mom and Jareth!" Carla called out, her eyes big with fear.

"But I don't want them to worry," Mina weakly protested to that. She hung her head and tears started to fall from her eyes. How could someone be this cruel to her? And why? She hadn't done anything to anybody!

Then two suspects rose to the surface. It was either Clint, angered again over what happened between them….or it was Lucius. She hadn't fallen out with anyone else.

"It's Clint. Or Lucius." Mina stammered, once she calmed down some from crying. Carla nodded but then frowned. "You really think your brother would do this to you?" She was more prone to believe that Lucius was doing this to her friend.

"I wouldn't put it past him." Mina answered honestly. "He can be positively vile, if he needs to be. You should have heard him rant last time. So unreasonable." She sighed. "Carla, lets just get back to having fun, okay? I refuse to let some childish behaviour ruin my weekend."

At first Carla seemed hesitant, this was no small matter, of course. But when Mina pressed her again, she agreed and they went to pick out a movie to watch.

After a few glasses of rum, the girls forgot the whole ordeal for the time being and had fun indeed. The next day, they were less happy with themselves, when the hangover made itself known.

"Why…why do I do this to myself?" Carla groaned as she sat down at the table, where Mina stalled out all the food she had for breakfast. "No idea." She croaked back. "Coffee?" Carla just nodded. She was thankful that her friend had been smart enough to buy all of this the day before. The thought of going out today almost made her stomach turn.

After having some breakfast, the girls started to feel a little better. Carla shifted in her seat, as if she wanted to address a difficult topic, but didn't know how to. "Spill it." Mina said softly, the nervous tic started to annoy her.

"What are you gonna do? About this suspicion you have? You can't do nothing, Minnie, you have to act and nip this in the bud." Carla stated, tilting her head at her friend. Mina smiled weakly. Hearing the nickname that her brother used to give her was painful and sweet at the same time. She knew that Carla was doing it to make up for the hole Clint left in her life and also because she knew it would be harder for Mina to say no, if she used some emotional pressure. Hm. They both would have done well in Slytherin, she thought involuntarily.

"I'm going to see if I can talk to the people around him first. Narcissa, Snape, Draco. See what they have to say. Then I can confront him myself, if I need to. I want to be sure first, before I open old wounds for no reason." Mina answered her, after being lost in thought for a few moments. Carla nodded. That was an acceptable answer.

"Are you going to alert your parents?"

Mina shook her head. "Not for the time being."

Carla did not get over her hangover the way she had hoped and shortly after breakfast, she announced that she was heading home. Mina was content with it, their weekend had been very nice, despite the bad trip that she had. After saying goodbye to her friend, she started to clean up her apartment some and sat down to write.

Restlessness soon took over and the girl realized that she needed to act, otherwise this whole ordeal would not grant her even a second of rest. She decided that the first place to start was at the Weasley's.

"Mina! Come in, dear! Look everyone, it's Mina!" Molly happily greeted her and stepped back to let Mina in their house. She smiled warmly. "Good afternoon, mrs. Weasley. I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you."

Molly assured her that this wasn't the case and so did the others. Ginny was visiting with George and Ron arrived shortly after Mina. Mina was very fond of the Weasley's, especially after Dumbledore filled her in about Arthur's attempts to talk sense into Lucius. They could surely answer her questions. She sat across from Arthur, Ginny and George, playing cards. Molly sat back down in her chair near the fire, to continue to knit and Ron joined her there.

"How are things, Mina?" He asked her with a smile. "Good, thanks and for you? How are the kids and Hermione?" Ron chuckled. "They're well, she's taking them to her parents this afternoon. We have a date later." Mina grinned, when she saw that telling them this still made Ron blush behind his ears.

"I hope you have a lot of fun." Mina answered him warmly. Meanwhile Arthur had brought them some tea and cookies. "Here you are, Mina, a nice cup of tea. Are you sure you're alright? You look a little pale."

The warmth and care with which they received the girl made tears come to her eyes and she started to blink rapidly. Molly noticed and jumped up, putting an arm around her. "Oh, dearie, what's the matter? Is something wrong with your mum?" Ginny quietly got up and poured Mina a glass of water, which she thankfully accepted.

"Thanks, Ginny. Thanks mrs. Weasley. No, my mother is fine, thank you. It's….I wonder what Lucius is up to these days." She didn't want to accuse him right away, since she didn't have any real proof yet.

"What for?" Mrs. Weasley asked with a frown. Arthur put a hand on her arm, in hopes of calming her down. Molly had been absolutely livid after hearing the whole story between Mina and Lucius.

"I am just…curious. What he's doing, who he's doing it with." Mina answered awkwardly. Molly probably thought she was trying to get back with him now, but she couldn't right out accuse him of stalking her, without any real information.

"Nobody knows." Arthur answered truthfully. Mina frowned and blinked confused. "What do you mean, nobody knows?"

The man sighed. "He's been fired from the Ministry of Magic. He started to make mistake after mistake. After a while, he just stopped showing up in general. They sent people to the manor, to check on him, but…he's either not there or he refused to open the door. The fireplace is no longer connected to the floo-network. Mina…please don't do anything rash, alright?"

"Oh, no, of course not." Mina promised but the Weasley's heard the lie before she finished speaking. This only made her more curious about his whereabouts.

The girl finished her tea and wished them all a nice afternoon. She had to turn down Molly's offer to stay for dinner several times. Any other day she gladly would have accepted but now she had to continue her research. The next stop was professor's Snape residence. He once scribbled the address down for Draco and Clint, so they could come and do his garden and luckily, Mina copied and remembered it.

The street was as dreary as ever, small and crooked house all over with paint peeling off the doors and cracks in the wood. Even the red-painted window cills couldn't save the street's image, it remained gloomy and sombre. Carefully Mina knocked on the door and stepped back. The curtain behind the large window moved, but Mina wasn't able to see the figure that moved it. After a minute or so, the door opened and she stared in the face of a rather old witch. "Yes?" The lady croaked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm looking for Severus Snape." Mina stated, fidgeting with her hands.

"Severus? He doesn't live her anymore, deary! Moved with a lady, to a manor! It's rather cold, I have to go back inside now!" The witch explained and once Mina nodded, she slowly closed the door again.

Severus moved? To a manor? Was Severus living at Malfoy Manner with Narcissa? Well, there was only one way to find out. Not that Mina was looking forward to visiting there. It would be painful for a multitude of reasons. What was she going to ask Narcissa? _Hey, remember your husband, that you tried to reconcile with for your son's sake? Remember when he wanted me instead and I left him, once I made sure that you two weren't coming back together? Well, I kinda wanna talk to him!_ No, that was nonsense, Mina thought. Narcissa and Lucius were done long before she showed up.

After talking some sense into herself, Mina continued her search and travelled to Malfoy manor. As expected, seeing the grand house caused her heartache. They could have been so happy here. Did she do the right thing? She had been young and foolish after all. No use thinking it over now. She opened the gate and set foot for the front door. While she walked, Mina noticed the complete absence of lilacs, from what she could see of the garden. She did see the maze, but the branches no longer had those lovely full and green leaves. It was dark, dead and empty, instead.

Reluctantly, Mina knocked on the large and heavy door, swallowing the upcoming tears that gathered in her throat and eyes. When the door opened, her heart jumped up, to her own dismay. She chastised herself, thinking it was probably a member of the staff that would deny her access and not Lucius himself. But this wasn't the case either. Severus himself opened the door and he narrowed his eyes at the girl, without speaking. He looked better, Mina noticed. His hair was taken care of and not as greasy, as it always was. He wore a nice, black suit and his face was less sunken in than the last time she saw him.

"Miss Harper? What are you doing here?" Professor Snape asked her, after several moments had passed. Mina regrouped. "Oh! Forgive me, professor, I-I…" She wasn't able to explain, tears overtook her.

Severus stepped aside and allowed her to enter. "Come in, warm yourself by the fire. I'll ask Narcissa for some tea, yes? And you may call me Severus now, miss Harper. You are no longer my student." He stated, a bit of mirth appearing in his eyes. Was this real? Was he joking with her? "Eh…thank you. Severus. Will you call me 'Mina' then?" She asked in return as she entered the manor. Severus led them to the fireplace with a chuckle. "I'll try." Once they were seated, he smiled. "Now, what has you so upset?"

"I'm looking for Lucius."

The smile vanished and his mouth turned into thin line. "We all are." He mumbled. "What?" Mina asked confused.

"What are you doing here?!" A shrill voice demanded to know. Mina jumped from her seat and saw Narcissa appear in the room.

"Narcissa, let's sit down and…" Severus tried to reason with her, but she ignored him as she kept her almost deranged look on the girl. "What are you doing here?!" She repeated, even louder.

"I'm looking for Lucius and I was wondering…I went to professor Snape's old house but he wasn't there and…"

"No, we had to move in here, hadn't we? Lucius disappeared because of you! He left all of this mess for us to clean up! How dare you show up here, demanding to know where he is?" Narcissa ranted. Now Mina narrowed her eyes at her. She was sick of getting the blame for all of this.

"I had no idea, that's why I'm looking for him. I was worried." She explained, forgiving herself for the little white lie. "I visited the Weasley's first, they told me he was fired and he disappeared. Then I visited Severus's home and the witch living there informed me that he lived in a manor these days. That's why I showed up. And may I remind you that you are quite comfortable here? So maybe pretending that you're the victim here is less than constructive."

"He left Draco too, you know? For the second time!" Narcissa weakly protested. "He didn't leave him the first time, you took him from him." Mina calmly reminded her. "Where is Draco? Does he know where his father is?" Draco was her only hope now.

Severus shook his head. "No, Draco is busy building his company and his life. He lives here but we don't see him that often. Lucius's disappearance is hard on him too."

"I see." Mina whispered and looked down.

"If you have no other questions, I'd rather see you leave." Narcissa stated through gritted teeth.

Mina opened her mouth to protest. She wanted to tell them what was going on. How scared she was. Maybe beg for their help, to support her before anyone got really hurt in this matter. But she didn't.

What if they didn't believe her?


End file.
